Diamond Tears and Pearl Hearts
by Momoko and Miyako
Summary: Hikari is a young Pokémon Trainer who just came into possession of her first Pokémon. Now she has to fill up her new Pokedex with all the Pokémon she sees, get all 8 badges, and stop a team with weird costumes. Oh, and she's in a love triangle.
1. Prologue

**Diamond Tears and Pearl Hearts**

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**Kin: I'm Kin!**

**Gin: …I'm Gin…**

**Kin: And this is our new story…**

***Gin does drumroll***

**Kin: **_**'Diamond Tears and Pearl Hearts'!**_** Care to tell us what it's about, Gin?**

Gin: No.

**Kin: Well, you have to. It's in the script.**

**Gin: *sigh* Fine. **

'_**Diamond Tears and Pearl Hearts' **_**revolves around the female character from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Hikari. She has no connection to the Pokémon anime. Hikari, after being dragged to Lake Verity by her best friend Jun, unwittingly becomes a Pokémon's trainer after grabbing it from a strange suitcase. Soon after she meets another new friend, and now she must try to complete the Pokedex and conquer the Sinnoh League, and defeat the notorious Team Galactic, all without knowing that she is also getting herself into a rather odd love triangle. This fanfic also features two original characters that are members of Team Galactic, they will be introduced later.**

**Gin: Good enough for you?**

**Kin: Yes. Now how about I explain why there are two of us?**

Gin: Please do (even though I don't care).

**Kin: Here goes!**

**My name is obviously Kin, although that's not my real name. The grouchy one there is one of my best friends, Gin. We both love Pokémon with a passion, and we've already published one story on the matter that stars both of us in Johto entitled: **_**'Of Seas and Skies'**_**. Recently we've been talking about Sinnoh a lot, and so we decided to publish this humorously romantic adventure story. The reason we share an account on FanFiction is because we like making stories together, and it would be unfair if it was published on an account mainly featuring one of us. For more, please check our profile page, as the intro is already almost one page long now.**

**Gin: …And what I'm saying now just **_**made **_**it one page. By the way, Kin has her own account on FanFiction under the penname CherriEclipse. Anyways, disclaimer?**

Kin: Yup!

**Disclaimer: We don't own Pokémon~**

**Gin: …Why the cute squiggly line…?**

Kin: ^_^

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'…_Despite the exploration team's best efforts, however, the rare, oddly colored Pokémon eluded detection. The rumored red Gyarados failed to appear, even fleetingly, to the crestfallen team…'_

A young girl with dark blue hair sighed, switching off the TV. "Jeez… Jun wanted me to watch this program, but it turned out to be a waste of my time." She murmured to herself, walking downstairs.

"Hikari! Hikari?" The girl's mother called out to her. Hikari ran into the kitchen. "What, Mom?" She asked. Joanna, for that was the woman's name, smiled. "Jun was looking for you only a moment ago. He seemed excited."

Hikari rolled her eyes. "As usual," She muttered and ran out the front door.

Hikari was and independent girl. She loved being optimistic, and she was filled to the brim with energy, unlike her best friend Jun—he had overflowed that brim a _looong_ time ago. She was, however, very dense. Her mom had made her watch some romantic drama between two lovers—what was it, "The Sketchbook" or something?—and Joanna literally had to explain the entire concept of the story to her daughter. Hikari still didn't get it.

Hikari loved dressing up; her outfit consisted of a black v-neck shirt with a white tank top underneath, a pink skirt, long white socks, two stylish pink boots, and to top it all off were her golden triangle barrettes, her white hat with a pink Pokéball pattern on it, and a long red scarf. Jun often grumbled that her regular outfit was too flashy. Hikari considered it rather plain.

She arrived at Jun's house and was about to open the door when—

_THUD!_

"Ow!" Hikari exclaimed angrily, now sitting on her rear. A boy was sitting across from her, looking equally dazed. He had blond hair that stuck out to both sides, and two blazing orange eyes. He wore an orange and white striped short-sleeved jacket with a black shirt underneath and a green scarf around his neck, and he also wore black pants and brown shoes.

"What was that about?" The boy exclaimed irritably. He then saw Hikari's face. "Oh, Hikari! Hey there! I'm going to the lake, so you come too! And be quick about it! If you're late, Hikari, I'm fining you a million dollars!" He stood up and started to run off, but then he stopped. "Oh, shoot! I forgot something!" He then bolted back into his house.

Hikari, still on the ground, rolled her eyes at the boy who was indeed her best friend Jun. Ever since they were kids; Jun had always been running one place or another, often dragging Hikari with him. He often pulled the "fining you an 'insert large amount of money here'" trick on her, and so far Hikari probably had over 10 billion dollars of debt stacked towards Jun, although he'd most likely have forgotten right now.

Hikari sighed and got up, brushing herself off. She then walked into Jun's house. "Oh, Hikari!" Jun's mother greeted. "Jun is—"

"Upstairs. I know." Hikari smiled and barged up the stairs, entering Jun's room.

Jun was searching through his bag, making sure he had everything he needed. He saw Hikari glaring at him impatiently; her arms crossed and posture stiff. Jun took no notice of these storm signs, smiling and saying, "Oh, Hikari! Listen, meet me at the edge of Twinleaf Town, OK? We're going to the lake! And don't be late, or I'm fining you 10 million dollars!" He then rushed past Hikari and down the stairs. Hikari sighed and walked after him.

When she arrived at the edge of town, Jun was waiting for her. He pouted. "You're late!" He said. Hikari rolled her eyes. "Yes, Jun, I'm late. Slap the cuffs on me." She laughed slightly. "So anyways, what are we doing today?"

Jun's miffed expression immediately broke into a wide grin. "Today, we will find a red Gyarados!" He stated importantly.

"Eh?" Hikari said, tilting her head a bit in confusion. Jun tapped his foot impatiently. "You know, like that TV show, _Search for the Red Gyarados!_" He huffed. "If there was a red Gyarados in _that_ lake, then there's gotta be one in ours! Or at least a rare Pokémon!"

Hikari sighed. "Jun, I don't think there's—" But she was cut off by Jun grinning again and saying, "We can at least _try_, right?"

…Silence.

Then Hikari sighed again and muttered, "Could you _please _remind me why I put up with your stupid plans?"

"Because I'm your best friend, and it's not as if you have anything better to do with your time." Jun said proudly. "Now let's go!"

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**Kin: This is just the prologue, so of course it's short. We'll try and update soon, though! Anything you'd like to say before we sign off, Gin?**

Gin: No.

**Kin: OK then!**

Anyways, REVIEW!


	2. I Really Don't Like You

**Diamond Tears and Pearl Hearts**

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**Kin: Here we go with the first ever chapter of **_**'Diamond Tears and Pearl Hearts'**_**!**

**Gin: *claps* Yay.**

**Kin: *whispers* This is actually excited for her.**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Pokémon in any way whatsoever.**

**Gin: *pours bucket of water on Kin***

**Kin: WHAT WAS THAT FOR?**

**Gin: You forgot the pun.**

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"Jun, slow down."

"Why?"

"Because you're going too fast."

"No I'm not."

"Just slow down."

"Why?"

"Jun!"

"…"

Jun slowed down by a fraction. Hikari sighed. "Thank you." The two were walking the path from Twinleaf Town to Lake Verity. Jun turned his head to see Hikari.

"Hey, Hikari." He said. Hikari sighed and turned her head. "What?" She asked. Jun grinned. "Even if we don't catch a rare Pokémon, let's at least try to catch _a_ Pokémon, OK?" Hikari tilted her head in confusion. "Eh?"

Jun's grin grew wider. "Well, we're both 12 now, and we've graduated Pokémon School and gotten our Trainer Cards. So we should get to starting our Pokémon journey about now!" He declared. "You know, the two of us, traveling the region of Sinnoh together, getting the eight badges and defeating the Pokémon League, just like we said we would do as kids!"

Hikari smiled. "You're still going on about that, huh?" She laughed slightly. Jun nodded fervently. "We'd be like the three musketeers!" He stated. Hikari raised an eyebrow.

"Jun, there's only two of us."

"Really? Lemme check. One, two… …Three. No, there are three of us, Hikari."

Hikari laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder before stating, "Hey, we're here!"

They were standing in front of the entrance to Lake Verity. Jun was impatient. "Well, what're we waiting for?" He said. "Let's go in!"

The two entered the forest, but they weren't alone. There were two people in front of them, about a few meters away, and they seemed to be talking to each other.

Hikari started to speak, but then Jun grabbed her and dove into a bush. Hikari twisted around in an attempt to escape, but Jun had a firm hold on her. "Jun!" She squealed quietly, "What was that for?"

Jun was craning his neck around to see the people by the lake. "Sssshh!" He shushed impatiently.

"Whyyyyy?"

"I said shush!" Jun whispered angrily. Hikari wiggled around, saying, "We shouldn't be eavesdropping on these people."

Jun sighed angrily. "It's not eavesdropping. We're just listening in on their conversation without them knowing."

"That's the same as eavesdropping!"

"It is _not_!"

While the two bickered quietly in the bush, the people by the lake kept talking. One of them was a boy who looked to be the same age as them; about 12. He had dark blue hair and a red beret, and he also wore a light blue jacket. The man next to him looked fairly old, probably his late sixties, and he had a stern expression, a white mustache, and a lab coat.

"So, Professor Rowan, did you find everything you were looking for at the lake?" The boy asked eagerly.

The old man nodded. "Yes, Kouki. I took the necessary water samples I needed for my research, and we also caught one of the Magikarp to take back to study… It seems as if it will be nearing evolution soon, so we may get some useful data from it…" He muttered. "Well then, Kouki, let us depart."

"Yes, sir!" The boy named Kouki said, and the pair left the lake, walking right past Hikari and Jun.

Jun looked up from his and Hikari's fight and remarked, "Oh, they left." Hikari looked up too. "Oh, you're right…" She murmured.

The two stood up as if nothing had happened, brushed themselves off, and walked towards the lake. Jun suddenly piped up, "Hikari, look at that!"

Hikari followed Jun's gaze to see a brown briefcase lying in the tall grass, apparently left behind by the old man and his protégé. Jun seemed concerned. "Looks like they forgot it. Should we give it back?" He asked. Hikari was equally nervous. "Of course we should, but…"

The briefcase laid smack dab in the middle of a large patch of tall grass. Hikari and Jun had been ordered by their mothers not to go in the tall grass until they had their own Pokémon, as wild Starly, Shinx and Bidoof (which Hikari had held a long time hatred of since she was a child) attacked people in there. Jun shook his head, put on a determined expression and said, "OK! I've got it! We'll just run in super fast, grab the briefcase, and then run back out before any wild Pokémon jump out! Easy-peasy!"

Hikari seemed reluctant. "Jun, I don't think that's a good—" She started, but Jun just sighed, saying, "Got any other bright ideas?"

Hikari blinked, but then shook her head slowly and muttered, "OK, let's try it."

Jun grinned. "Awesome! Then—" He grabbed Hikari's hand. "One… Two… THREE!"

The two ran full speed into the grass until they reached the briefcase. Jun reached down quickly to pick it up, but then there was a rustle behind them.

"Holy-!"

Two Starly suddenly flew out of the grass and they didn't look happy. Hikari and Jun were cautious, they knew from Pokémon School that despite a Starly's small size, they had the potential to peck someone's eyes out within 3 seconds flat.

"Dammit!" Jun cursed, backing away slightly. "And my plan was so perfect, too!"

"I beg to differ!" Hikari screamed, her voice becoming a full octave higher.

Jun started opening the briefcase he now held in his arms. "What are you doing?" Hikari asked frantically. "I'm seeing if there's anything in this thing that can help us!" Jun answered. "Hey, look! There are four Pokéballs in here!"

The young man took one of the Pokéballs and threw it into the air… and out came…

"Magi. Magikarp."

A Magikarp.

Jun yelled, "RETURN!" as he returned the useless Fish Pokémon to its ball. He immediately put that one back and took two more out, tossing one to Hikari. "Take this one and battle with it! Don't worry, I'm pretty sure it's not a Magikarp!"

_"Pretty sure?" _Hikari screamed, but then the Starly shrieked and dove towards Hikari, missing her by inches. Hikari, acting on instinct, threw the Pokéball into the air.

The Pokéball sprang open, and out of it came a blue penguin-like Pokémon. It landed neatly on its feet, crowing, "Piplup pip!"

"Ah, you got a Piplup!" Jun said. Hikari looked over to see a red monkey-like Pokémon with fire for a tail in front of Jun. She smiled. "And you got a Chimchar," She said to her best friend.

Jun grinned. "Yep! Alright then, let's battle! Chimchar, Scratch Attack!" He commanded, and Chimchar bolted forward quickly, its claws glowing. It scratched the opposing Starly furiously, the bird Pokémon screeching in loud protest.

Hikari turned to her new Pokémon friend and said, "Piplup, use Pound!" Piplup charged for the Starly and whacked it hard with its fins. Starly was not amused.

The battling continued a short while longer, with Hikari and Jun repeating the only offensive moves that their Pokémon knew. The Starly were _not _ amused. Bruised and beaten, the two Bird Pokémon fled the scene.

Hikari collapsed to her knees. "We did it, thank Arceus..." She sighed. Jun grinned happily. "Well now, that was just plain freaking _awesome_, wasn't it?" He crowed in triumph. Hikari glared at him. "Are you crazy?" She scowled. "We could've been killed!"

Jun blinked. "Really? Cool." He answered, grinning more and holding out a hand to her. Hikari sighed, but took his hand and allowed herself to be pulled up by him. Jun then picked up the briefcase.

He examined it closely. "It says that it belongs to a... Professor Rowan?" The blond put a finger to his chin. "Where have I heard that again?"

Hikari, however, was goggling. "PROFESSOR ROWAN?" She screamed. Jun's eyes then lit up as he said, "Oh, yeah! He's your uncle, isn't he, Hikari?"

"I don't have an uncle."

"Oh. Right."

Hikari sighed and looked at the entrance to the forest. "Those two people left a second ago, so I guess we should follow them..." She stopped short when the two heard a rustling behind them.

Jun turned to his best friend nervously and proposed, "Run?"

Hikari nodded. "Run."

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After the two had sprinted out of the forest at Jun-level speed, they were now trying to figure out where the duo from earlier had gone off to. The two Pokémon they had released earlier—Piplup and Chimchar—were hanging onto either of their shoulders.

"He probably didn't go to Twinleaf," Hikari reasoned, "So he probably went to Sandgem. But let's go home and try going there tomorrow." Jun looked slightly put off by this suggestion, but nodded. He then said, "Hey, Hikari."

"Hmm?" Hikari answered absentmindedly. Jun then asked, "Since we'll have to leave early to make the round trip to Sandgem and back, do you wanna sleep over at my place tonight?"

Hikari was woken up from her thoughts from this proposition, but she them smiled. "Sure. I'd love to." She answered happily. Jun brightened up at her consent.

A few hours later, the two had eaten dinner and they were now up in Jun's room with Hikari's sleeping bag set up. "So wait. If this Rowan guy isn't your uncle—"

"Non-existent uncle," Hikari corrected.

Jun rolled his eyes. "_Non-existent _uncle, then who the hell is he?"

Hikari answered, "He's a famous professor studying Pokémon evolution. From what I heard, he left 10 years ago to conduct research in other regions and he just returned a few days ago. I certainly wasn't expecting his lab to be as close as Sandgem Town." Jun nodded carefully, taking all the information in. Hikari then stood up from her spot on the floor.

"Well then, I should probably get into my pajamas." She sighed. She then began taking her shirt off.

Jun jumped and yelped, _"What are you doing?"_ Hikari's shirt was pulled halfway off already as she looked at Jun confusedly. "I'm changing. What else?"

"B—but we're in the same—"

"Room? Ok, since when has that been a problem? We changed together all the time as kids."

Jun's face was growing hotter. "Yes—but—that—"

Hikari's black shirt was now off by now and all that was left was her pink skirt and small white tank top. Jun's face was pure scarlet by now. "I—I'm leaving!" He yelled, bolting down the stairs.

Hikari looked after him curiously, blinking. "...Weird," She finally commented, and took her pajamas out of her bag.

Downstairs, Jun was sitting on the couch trying to stop hyperventilating. "Oh—my—_Arceus_." He muttered to himself. His mother walked in from the kitchen. "...Something wrong, Jun?" She asked. Jun jumped about a foot into the air before whipping around to see her. "WHAT? NO! IT'S NOTHING!" He screamed, obviously startled. He then called up the stairs, "H-Hikari! You done changing?"

"Yeah!" The bluenette answered. Jun then ran back up the stairs. Hikari was in her pink pajamas now, leaning against Jun's bed and reading a heavy book in her lap. She looked up at Jun. "What was all that about with you running off earlier?"

"Nothing," Jun answered as he sat next to her, his face finally cooling down.

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"...Hi..."

"...Hika..."

"HIKARI!"

"WAH!" Hikari shot up in her sleeping bag, banging her head against Jun's in the process. He had apparently been leaning over her as he woke her up (an understatement).

"OW!" The two screamed together, holding their foreheads in pain. "Jun, what was that for?" Hikari asked, grinding her teeth in discomfort. Jun wasn't much better. "You weren't budging, so I had to wake you up...!" He groaned.

"Ugh, what time is it anyway...?" Hikari muttered, groping for her alarm clock. She looked at it.

'_4:30 AM'_

...

Hikari was instantly surrounded by a dark aura. Jun sweatdropped. "_You—woke—me—up—at 4:30 in the morning?_" Hikari said with the eyes of the devil. Jun gulped. "Well, yeah... But, y'see—"

"GO TO HELL!" Hikari shrieked, throwing her heavy book at him and then flopping back down on her pillow to sleep.

Jun gulped again as he sat in front of the girl, her eyebrows still knit together in anger as she slept.

Hikari was _definitely _not a morning person.

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A few hours later, at six AM, Jun finally judged it safe to wake Hikari again. After much grumbling and a few more flying projectiles to Jun's head, Hikari finally got up and grabbed her regular outfit. Jun bolted downstairs before she began changing.

After breakfast, the two were on their way. Jun held the briefcase whilst his new friend Chimchar perched on his head and Hikari held Piplup lovingly in her arms. Soon, the two saw the grass that blocked them from Sandgem Town. Hikari refused to take another step.

"But Hikari..."

"No."

"I'll buy you chocolate when we get there..." Jun coaxed.

"_No."_ Hikari rejected again.

"I'll buy you a _lot_ of chocolate when we get there..."

"..."

"What was that?"

"...N-no..."

Jun was about to proceed more with his bribery when they were interrupted by a voice from nearby.

"Oh, where _is _it? Professor's going to _kill_ me when he finds out I misplaced it..." The voice moaned miserably. Jun and Hikari looked at each other questionably, then nodded and proceeded to look behind a nearby tree where the voice seemed to be coming from.

The two then saw a boy about their age, with dark blue hair like Hikari's but he had slightly darker skin. He had stormy gray eyes and a red cap on his head. The two instantly recognized him as the boy earlier from the lake, the one the Professor had called Kouki. He was obviously in great distress. "Hey, dude," Jun asked concernedly, "You alright?"

"Yes," Kouki answered, sniffling slightly. "Please, don't mind me. I'm just looking for..."

He trailed off when he saw the Chimchar on Jun's head and the old brown briefcase.

"THIEF!" Kouki yelled suddenly. Jun jumped. "Excuse me?" He asked, surprised, but Kouki immediately ensued in attacking the blond. "How DARE you steal the Professor's prized Pokémon _and _my Turtwig!" He growled, trying to wrench the briefcase from Jun's hands. "Stop it!" Hikari cut in, pushing Kouki away from Jun and standing between them deftly.

"Jun isn't a thief!" She protested hotly. "We _found_ that briefcase in the bushes. As for the Pokémon, we had to release them to defend ourselves against some Starly that attacked us when we went to go get it and _return it to you!_"

Kouki was obviously surprised by the girl's outburst, but then he bowed his head in apology, his face red. "I-I'm so sorry, Miss." He murmured in shame.

Hikari straightened up a little and said, "As long as you understand..." Just then, another voice came from behind them.

"Well, well, well. Now what do we have here?"

It was none other than Professor Rowan walking towards them. Kouki immediately jumped and squeaked, "P-Professor...!"

Jun grinned and said, "Oh, so _you're _Hikari's uncle!"

"Jun."

"Sorry."

Hikari sighed and took the briefcase from Jun, handing it to the Professor and saying, "I believe this belongs to you, sir." The professor nodded, taking it gratefully. "Thank you, miss. And the Pokémon..." He looked carefully at Hikari's Piplup and Jun's Chimchar. He then asked, "From what I heard in your conversation, I am to assume that you two barged into the tall grass with no Pokémon?"

The two looked down embarrassedly. The Professor's eyes narrowed. "I see. What an _incredibly _foolish thing to do, both of you—"

"Hold it!" Jun interrupted loudly. "Going into the grass was my idea. Don't blame Hikari for this, it was all my doing." Hikari stared at him with wide eyes. "Jun..." She murmured.

Professor Rowan glowered a little more, but then sighed and said, "Very well. You're honest, young man, and for that I will give you credit for that. I take it from what I've heard so far that your names are Hikari and Jun?"

The two nodded in conformation. The Professor continued, "Very well. Would you two please follow me through the grass, then, to Sandgem Town? I have Repel on, so don't worry."

The duo looked at each other nervously, but then followed Rowan and Kouki through the grass.

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When they arrived at the lab, they immediately noticed that it was everything they had expected it to be and nothing less. A large, white building with several drawing boards up, strange machines, computers running their screensavers and people in white lab coats rushing around everywhere.

"Jun, don't touch anything." Hikari ordered. Jun nodded, although he wasn't really listening. "Yeah, yeah... Hey, what's that thing?"

"Jun."

"Sorry."

Hikari sighed as Professor Rowan came to the back of the lab where his desk was and began rummaging around for something. Eventually he pulled out two small compact machines, one bright yellow and one a light peachy pink.

"These are Pokedexes," He said. "They record data of any Pokémon you see. Now then, I have a request. You two are most likely heading out on a Pokémon journey soon, correct? Of course I am. I would like you two to take these Pokedexes with you on your adventures and record data of all the Pokémon you run into. Can you handle it? In return, I will allow you to keep Piplup and Chimchar for your own. It seems that they've grown to like you."

Hikari and Jun looked at each other, then turned back and nodded. "Of course we will!" They chimed. The Professor nodded. "Very good. I would also like you to travel with Kouki."

...

"WHAAAAAT?" Jun and Kouki yelled together. Hikari and Rowan sweatdropped. "M-my goodness, I don't see what the problem is here." Rowan said.

"The _problem_ is that this boy is an idiotic, illiterate buffoon!" Kouki yelled. Jun shouted back, "Yeah, well the feeling's mutual, you prissy, insolent, know-it-all twit!" The two obviously didn't appear to get along.

Hikari's eyebrows furrowed worriedly. "Oh, come on. Don't be a baby about this, Jun. And Kouki, you shouldn't call Jun names like that. Can't you two just put up with it? Jun, it'll be just like you said. The three musketeers!"

Jun sweatdropped. "Oh, did I say three? I meant two. As in you, me, and _not him._" He said. Kouki scoffed.

Hikari now looked extremely sad. "Come on, guys. If we don't travel together, then I can't keep Piplup. Please...?" She murmured.

Both boys blushed slightly at her sad, pleading face. They finally broke down. "...Fine..." They muttered. Hikari smiled. "Yay! Then let's go!"

The bluenette ran off out the door of the lab, taking her new Pokedex and Piplup with her. Jun grabbed his Pokedex and stormed off beside Kouki.

"I don't like you." The blond said.

"I figured." The assistant answered coldly.

"No, I'm serious. I _really_ don't like you." Jun said again. And with that, he and Kouki ran forward to join their young female traveling partner and begin their journey.

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**Kin: *still wet from earlier* Sorry for the late update. We have waaay too much schoolwork.**

**Gin: Correction: YOU have too much schoolwork. You really should stop procrastinating on all that math homework...**

**Kin: *not listening* Anyways, we'll try and update sooner next time!**

**Please review~!**


	3. Starly and Kaida

**Diamond Tears and Pearl Hearts**

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**Kin: *comes flying in on fairy wings* YAY, IT'S ANOTHER CHAPT—**

**Gin: *shoots her out of the sky with her (harmless) ball gun***

**Kin: *on floor now* WHAT WAS THAT FOR?**

**Gin: This is a no fly zone. Read the sign.**

**Disclaimer: Today we'll leave this to Jun.**

**Jun: *reading from paper* **_**"Graph y-6=4x-6(x+3)"**_**.**

**Kin: *blush* Oops. *grabs paper and swaps it with another* Sorry, that's my math homework…**

**Jun: *sweatdrop* Err, "Kin and Gin don't own Pokémon".**

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"…"

"…"

…

"…OK, what is _up _with you guys?" Hikari demanded, turning to face Jun and Kouki. "All you two have been doing since we left the lab is glare daggers at each other."

Jun and Kouki arose from their glare-fest to look at Hikari both surprised and guiltily. Kouki shifted from foot to foot sheepishly, whilst Jun scowled at a nearby bush. Hikari's eyes narrowed, but then she stomped forward and grabbed Jun's wrist.

"Wai—what?" Jun faltered, stumbling after Hikari confusedly. After they were out of Kouki's earshot, Hikari whirled around to face Jun.

"He is not that bad." She stated. Jun grimaced. "Yes he is!" He hissed. "He's a know-it-all!"

"Has he been spouting irritating facts since we left?"

"…No."

"Has he been rude to us since we left?"

"Well not to _you_, but—!"

"Has he done anything mildly jerk-like or, as you would so gracefully put it, _'know-it-all-like'_ since we left the lab?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Jun."

"…" 

During this discussion, Kouki was checking some kind of watch on his wrist and was playing with an app. Suddenly, however, he heard some kind of rustling behind him. Kouki turned to see what it was, but all he saw was a flash of white before whatever it had been was gone. "…What was that…?" He mumbled to himself.

At that moment, though, Jun huffed angrily and stormed off back to Kouki. Hikari followed irritably.

"Well," The bluenette sighed, "Let's get to Twinleaf Town. Jun and I need to tell my mom about our… plans."

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"You want to _what_?"

…Said Johanna as she paced the floor quickly and stressfully. Hikari and Jun looked down at their knees guiltily as Kouki watched this entire scene by the door. Jun had already spoken to his mother, who hadn't reacted much better.

"Hikari, you slept over at Jun's house without permission, ran off to Verity Lake _and _Sandgem Town to Professor Rowan's lab without telling me, and you ran into the tall grass, got attacked by Starly and used someone else's Pokémon without even bothering to _inform your own mother_?" The elder bluenette said angrily.

Jun looked up. "Ms. Miyazaki, please, it's—" He started, as Miyazaki was Hikari's surname, but he was cut off. "You're not getting off the hook either, mister!" Johanna screeched. "I cannot _believe _you charged into the tall grass without a second thought _and _eavesdropped on Professor Rowan's conversation!" Jun suddenly took a great interest in Hikari's carpet.

"…S-so Mom, could me and Jun go on our journey…?" Hikari tried lamely, expecting the worst. Johanna glared fireballs at her daughter and said,

"Yes, you may."

"I thought s—wait, WHAT?" Hikari yelped, her blue orbs snapping up to meet her mother's gaze. Johanna's eyes sparkled amusedly.

"Yes, you _may _go on the journey. You and Jun have your licenses now, and you went through Pokémon training school in Jubilife, so you can go. _But!_" She added, snapping Hikari and Jun out of their happy cheers. "_But, _you have to call me at least once every two weeks so I know you haven't perished in some horrible accident."

"Yes, yes, yes, Mom! Thank you so much!" Hikari squealed, throwing her arms around Johanna.

"Well, we'll be going then! I'll call you when we reach Jubilife!" Hikari said, walking towards the door with Jun. "Bye, Mom! I love you!"

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"Well, we got past both my mom and Ms. Miyazaki without dying! I call that a success!" Jun shouted triumphantly as the group walked down the road to Sandgem.

Hikari sighed. "Yeah, but we still have to travel to Jubilife city," She reminded. "Kouki, how long of a trek is it?"

Kouki glanced at the town map Jun's mother had given him after Jun decided he didn't want it. "Hm… About one or two days' time." He deducted. Jun groaned. "Too looooong." He moaned.

Hikari sweatdropped and smiled at the blond, but something past him caught her attention.

"Eh?" She murmured, looking past Jun a little more. "What's up, Hikari?" Jun asked, following her gaze. Kouki also looked over.

Right in the dark trees beside the route path, a pair of large red eyes were staring at them.

"Um… Hey!" Jun called. "You wanna come out and show yourself?"

The eyes blinked.

Then they blinked again.

And then they were gone.

…

"Well _that_ was odd." Kouki mumbled. Hikari nodded in agreement. Jun was miffed at the eyes' disappearance. "Jeez, there's nothing to be SCARED about!" He yelled. "The only frightening thing here is Kouki's face!"

Kouki whacked him. Jun growled. "Oh, you wanna go?" He shouted.

"Bring it!" Kouki retorted.

"IT'S BEEN BROUGHT!"

Hikari simply sighed and sat down on a rock, taking out a book and wondering who those strange pair of eyes had belonged to.

Just then, though, there was a flash of black and a few feathers went flying into the air, and Hikari saw a small Starly hopping around in front of her.

"Oh, hello." Hikari smiled. The Starly, however, seemed less than friendly. "STARLY STAR STAR!" It screeched, attacking Hikari's legs.

"WHOA!" Hikari yelped, standing up on the rock.

"Hikari!" Jun and Kouki shouted. Hikari took out her only Pokéball. "Piplup!" She said, throwing it into the air. A white light emerged from the ball, and soon Hikari's trusty Piplup was out in front of her. "Pip, piplup pip!" It crowed importantly.

"Piplup, use Pound Attack!" Hikari commanded, teetering a little on her rock. Piplup obeyed, dashing forward and hitting Starly hard with its head. "Starly!" The bird Pokémon shrieked, trying to attack Piplup with numerous Peck attacks, but Piplup dodged them all, continuing to hit Starly with Pound attacks. The Starly lurched dangerously, dizzy and beaten. Instinctively, Hikari took out an empty Pokéball Kouki had given her earlier.

"Go, Pokéball!" She cried, throwing it at the Starly. The Starly was enveloped in red light, which then entered the Pokéball.

The ball wobbled…

…and wobbled…

…and then, very slowly…

_Click._

"I did it! I caught my first Pokémon!" Hikari cheered, jumping into the air. Apparently, however, she forgot that she was on a rock. When she landed, she lost her footing and went toppling backwards. Hikari screamed briefly, expecting the hard earth as her cushion, but instead she landed on something soft.

…and _breathing_.

Hikari looked up. "J-Jun?" She exclaimed, looking at the orange-eyed youth. "Yo," He greeted, the breath knocked out of him. Hikari remembered that Jun and Kouki had been behind her the entire time she had been battling, so she must have accidentally fallen on Jun. "S… sorry." She laughed sheepishly.

"No problem. But could you get off, please? You're way heavier than you look." Jun coughed nervously.

Hikari punched him in the stomach. "Ow." Jun muttered before they both got up. Kouki was glaring jealously at the blond.

Hikari strode over to the Pokéball. "Wow, my first ever caught Pokémon…" She breathed. Hikari threw the ball into the air. "Starly, go!" A flash of white light emerged, and the Starly appeared.

It then began attacking Hikari.

"Ow, ow, OW!" Hikari screamed, holding her arms up to protect herself. Jun and Kouki ran over, Jun shielded Hikari while Kouki worked on snatching Starly out of the air. When he had finally grabbed it, he yelled, "Hikari, return it!"

Hikari fumbled for Starly's Pokéball and screeched, "Return!" A red light emerged from the ball and Starly was returned.

…

"…I don't think your new Pokémon likes you that much." Jun finally stated. Hikari sniffed.

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A few hours later, the group had passed Sandgem and was now walking down the darkening route to Jubilife City.

"It's getting dark. We should set up camp soon." Hikari commented. Jun and Kouki nodded. Kouki looked at the map. "Let's see… there's a clearing about an hour up the route. It should be safe to sleep there for the night." He deducted.

"Cool." Jun piped up. Suddenly, however, he jerked around to look into the dense trees nearby.

"Something wrong?" Hikari asked, stopping. Jun seemed uncomfortable. "I could have _sworn_ I just saw someone over there."

"Someone?" Kouki inquired. Jun nodded. "Y-yeah, a little girl, I think… with white hair?" He muttered. Then he grinned. "Maybe it's a ghost! Ahahaha!"

"NOOO!" Hikari screamed. Jun jumped. "No, no, Hikari, I was joking!" He clarified hastily. Kouki seemed confused, but Jun quickly added to him, "She hates scary things." Kouki mouthed, 'Ah'.

Once Hikari had calmed down enough, the group proceeded forward through the route more. An hour later, they reached the clearing.

"Kouki, you set up the camping stuff. Me and Hikari will get firewood." Jun said. Kouki agreed, and Hikari walked off into the trees with Jun.

Hikari was looking around edgily. Jun sighed. "Hika. I was joking about the ghost." He assured, but Hikari wasn't convinced. Jun sighed again, regretting the time he had made Hikari watch that scary movie with him…

FLASHBACK

_A nine year old Hikari and Jun sat in Jun's room, where Jun was preparing a DVD. Hikari looked anxious._

"_Jun, is it really OK for us to watch this?" She said, holding a large book in her hands worriedly. Jun grinned. "No worries!" He chirped. "Mom's out visiting Dad at the Battle Frontier, so we can do what we want!"_

He pressed play.

_Five minutes later…_

_A bawling Hikari was crying her eyes out into an exasperated and blushing Jun's shirt. "Oh, come on! It's not _that _bad!" He yelled. Hikari simply sobbed more._

END FLASHBACK

Ever since then, Hikari had been terrified of zombies, vampires (especially the sparkly kind) and ghosts. Mostly ghosts.

Hikari gripped Jun's sleeve anxiously. Jun went faintly red. "Geez…" He muttered. Just then, though, there was a rustling from the trees.

"What was that?" Hikari yelped, whirling around to face the noise. "It's probably just a Pokémon." Jun reassured. "Let's just gather the firewood so Kouki doesn't freeze to death. Not that I would mind that."

A few minutes later, the two had gathered a decent amount of dry twigs, and they returned to Kouki who gratefully started their fire.

"So how far off is Jubilife?" Hikari asked. Kouki glanced at the map and said, "If we leave early in the morning, I think we can reach it by sunset. We have to go a little farther on this route, then a quick pass through a cave, and from there it's just another route into town."

"We should probably challenge some Trainers on the way for money." Jun suggested. "That way we can stock up on supplies in Jubilife." The other two agreed.

There was a sudden rustling again in the bushes behind them all, just like before. Just then, a lithe catlike Pokémon shot out. "GLAMEOW!" It cried, knocking all of the Pokéballs off the trio's belts before they could even blink and then knocking then up into the air a few yards away.

"It's a Glameow!" Kouki shouted. "What's it doing here? They don't live on this route!"

"Tee-hee~."

The group looked up at a huge pine tree nearby to see a small girl who looked about a year younger than them standing on its tip. She had snow white wavy hair which was put up in pigtails, red eyes, and a strange costume on with a yellow _'G' _emblem on the chest.

"Who the hell are you, and why did you take our Pokémon?" Jun yelled.

"My name is Kaida~." The girl smiled. "Won't you please play with me?"

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**Kin: CLIFFHANGER HA I HAVE TO GET OFF MY LAPTOP NOW OR ELSE MY MOM WILL KILL ME BYE  
**

**Gin: ^_^;**

**Please review~.**


	4. The Galactic Sisters and Shinx!

**Diamond Tears and Pearl Hearts**

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**Kin: We're back!**

Gin: *reading story plot* OK, so according to this we talk more about the new OC Kaida, and we also introduce—

**Kin: STOP-STOP-STOP! THEY NEED TO READ THE STORY FIRST!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Pokémon.**

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Hikari, Jun, and Kouki looked up at the pale white haired girl standing high above them with all their Pokémon. Her Glameow sat smugly at the bottom of the tree.

"So your name's Kaida?" Hikari called. "You look only ten or eleven years old! Just be a good girl and—"

"No~." Kaida smiled. "I'm a member of team Galactic. I have to take your Pokémon and then—"

…

"…And… then…" Kaida's voice was becoming sleepier. She teetered a little on her tree perch.

Then she fell.

Hikari screamed and covered her eyes and Jun and Kouki shouted in alarm, but then another voice echoed out.

"KAIDA!"

As if from nowhere, a girl melted out of the forest and caught Kaida in her arms. A chameleon-like Pokémon was next to her. "A Kecleon," Kouki muttered. The newcomer girl had pitch black hair put up in two straight pigtails, and she wore a cut top with the same yellow 'G' Kaida had on her dress, a short skirt, and black combat boots. Her eyes were an electric blue color. She looked about the same age as Hikari, Jun, and Kouki, maybe a year older.

Kaida stirred and opened her eyes a little. "S… sister…" She murmured. "Kaida, are you OK?" The black-haired girl said worriedly. She then looked suspiciously at the trio.

"You..." She started suspiciously, but then she smirked. "Oh, so you three are the chumps my little sister managed to rip off, huh?"

"Yeah, so?" Jun shouted at the two. "Just give us our Pokémon back, OR ELSE!"

"Or else _what?_" The black-haired girl smiled evilly. Kaida, the white haired young lady, was snoring lightly in the older girl's arms.

Jun was at a loss for words. "Or else... or else... Ugh, what's your name, anyways?" He demanded.

The girl leered more. "Kaiya. I'm this adorable little girl's big sis." She informed. "Unfortunately, I'm also a little harder to catch, so you should probably give up on getting your Pokémon back. They are officially the newest tools of Team Galactic."

_'Team Galactic?'_ Hikari thought curiously, but was cut off as she realized Kaiya's Kecleon was glowing.

Kaiya grinned more as Kaida finally began to stir. "Bye-bye!" She said haughtily.

"Yeah. Bye-bye~." Kaida smiled as her red eyes opened again.

The Kecleon went up in a blaze of white light before the two girls disappeared into the shadows.

"DANG IT!" Jun yelled angrily. "We gotta find those two!"

"But where could they be?" Hikari said calmly. "Jun, let's sit down and think about this."

"I don't have _time_ to think!" Jun yelled. "My Chimchar is stuck with those freaks; I need to get it back!"

"Just _calm down_ for a moment." Hikari said, forcing Jun to look in her eyes. Jun's breathing hitched a bit before finally slowing.

"Kecleon can make themselves and occasionally others blend in with their surroundings, but it takes a lot of power to make anyone other than themselves invisible," Kouki mused. "If we all spread out, we should be able to find them..."

"So it's settled; Hikari and I will search the left side; and Jun/Kouki and Hikari's Starly will search the right side!" Kouki and Jun said at the same time.

...

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to go search with Hikari?" Jun smiled at Kouki. Kouki beamed in response.

"As a matter of fact, yes, so if you could just search the right side it would be much appreciated." He laughed lightly.

"Like hell I will." Jun grinned.

Hikari was watching this scene unfold and she sweatdropped. "U-um, if we could all just decide how we're going to split up, then that would be..." She tried, but Jun and Kouki were still smiling in a rather creepy manner at each other and apparently not hearing her.

Then, abruptly, Jun put his arms around Hikari's shoulders. "It's _obvious_ that I should be the one to go with Hikari." He said, tucking his chin into the crook of her neck. "After all, we _are_ best friends who have known each other for _twelve years_, which, oh yeah, is pretty much since we were born."

Kouki flinched.

Jun grinned more. "What about you, Kouki? Do you know Hikari well enough to do _thiiiiis?_" He prodded more, nuzzling deeper into Hikari's neck. Kouki growled, and Hikari flushed light pink.

"That's _enough_, Jun." She growled, pushing him off. "We have to figure out who's going with whom. So play rock-paper-scissors. One round, winner goes with me, since you both obviously don't want to go with my Starly."

The two boys stared at her in disbelief of her obliviousness to the situation, but then turned to glare at each other as they each held up a fist.

"Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!" They yelled, holding out their choice.

Jun had rock.

Kouki had paper.

"HA!" Kouki yelled in triumph. "Paper beats rock!"

Jun, however, was unfazed. "What do you mean, Kouki? Paper is clearly no match for rock." He said, smiling.

Kouki blinked. "Wha... no, it's not! Prove it!" He protested.

Jun shrugged. "Alright then, I will." He then strode over to Kouki's backpack and pulled out a piece of blank notebook paper he kept stocked in there. Jun handed it to Kouki.

"What're you..." Kouki started, but was cut off when he saw Jun walk about eight feet away and pick up a rock off the ground.

"OK, now hold that up in front of your face. I'll throw the rock, and we'll see if it goes through." He smiled. Kouki panicked.

"WHAT?" He shouted in alarm. Hikari sighed and sat down on a nearby rock while taking out a large book and waiting for them to finish. "Wait, wait, hold on, and just think this through for a minute!" Kouki argued.

"Oh, don't worry, I was the best pitcher in baseball games back in Trainer School," Jun beamed evilly, a dark aura surrounding him. _"I won't miss, so just relax."_

Jun wound up to throw the rock, and that's when Kouki came to his senses. "OK! ROCK BEATS PAPER! Just don't throw that thing at me!"

Jun smiled. "Excellent! Now then, Hikari, why don't you send out Starly?" He inquired happily.

Hikari blinked. "Uh... Oh, yeah, Starly was taken too." She mused. Jun and Kouki sweatdropped at her sudden revelation.

"Alright then, it looks as if Kouki's going it alone!" Jun sang with even more joy in his voice as he walked off with Hikari. "Take care! Don't get eaten by wild Ursariiiing!"

Kouki walked off in the opposite direction. "I hate that guy..." He muttered angrily.

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Jun and Hikari walked along the forest path quietly as they looked around for what could be any sign of the sister thieves. Finally, Jun suddenly exclaimed, "LOOK!"

"What?" Hikari jumped, startled from his sudden outburst. Jun was pointing frantically to something off the side of the path.

"Look-look-look-look-LOOK!" He said again (five times). "I found footprints from those girls!"

"Really?" Hikari asked excitedly. She bent down to see if he was right, but then sweatdropped and sighed hopelessly.

"W—what?" Jun asked, feelings slightly hurt by this display. Hikari sighed again and pointed down.

"Jun, that's a _Shinx's_ footprint, not a human's." She pointed out. Jun stared at the footprint, inspecting it closely, then blinked.

"Yeah, well, what if they had like a _replica_ of Shinx's paw? And then they would leave it behind so we wouldn't follow them and—"

"Jun."

"Sorry."

Hikari sighed for the third time and said, "Well, let's keep—AHH!"

At that moment, a Shinx (most likely the one who left the footprint) burst out from a nearby bush. It was different from the other, typical Shinx due to the fact that it had a small scar crossing its left eye.

"_Shiiiinx,"_ it growled suspiciously. Hikari recoiled in slight fear at the display of anger, but Jun was hyped up by the Pokémon's sudden appearance.

"Oh, wow! I just had a great idea!" He shouted. Hikari jumped. "What?" She inquired. Shinx kept growling at them.

Jun put one arm around Hikari's shoulders and the other up towards the sky. "OK, visualize it," He commanded. "I catch this Pokémon, and it can help us find the thieves! After all, these guys have a great sense of smell, right? It's the perfect plan—all I have to do is catch this Shink!"

"SHIIIIINX!" The Shinx cried, and its whole body lit up with electricity as it launched itself at Jun.

"OWWW!" Jun yelled in pain as he was electrocuted by the lynx Pokémon.

"Jun... It's 'Shinx'. Not 'Shink'." Hikari groaned. Jun frowned in response as he lay on the ground with Shinx on his chest.

"Really? You sure? Cause I could've sworn that it was—kidding! I'm just kidding!" He laughed nervously as Shinx's cheeks began to spark with lightning again. "Anyways, will you help us?"

"Shi—" Shinx began to protest, but Hikari stared at it quietly with cold, silver-blue calculating eyes.

The two stared at each other for a while, but then some kind of mental connection formed between the two and Shinx sighed.

"...Shinx..." It muttered in consent. "YAY!" Jun squealed in happiness. "Now then, first things first... Are you a boy or a girl? Won't you please tell us? Just point to me or Hikari and press the 'A' button—oh, sorry, never mind. You can just point to me or Hikari to choose.

Shinx stared at them both for a moment, but then pointed grudgingly to Jun. "OK, you're a boy!" Jun grinned. "I thought so! After all, your personality is a lot like Hikari's, so I pretty much knew from the start..."

...

"_What was that, you smart aleck?"_ Hikari growled, grabbing Jun's cheeks and pulling them.

"I'm shorry. I won't shay it wagain." He managed through Hikari's tugs.

Shinx rolled his eyes.

"Oh, yeah. You probably need to know who we're looking for!" Jun laughed idiotically. "Well, y'see, these two girls stole our Pokémon, so we gotta find them. Have you seen a girl with black hair in straight pigtails and a girl with white hair in wavy ones? They might have had a Kecleon and Glameow with them too.

Shinx blinked, then exclaimed, "Shinx! Shinx shi shinx!" He cried, and then he ran off in another direction.

"I think he wants us to follow him," Hikari predicted. Jun grinned.

"Then what're we waiting for?" He said. "Let's go!"

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Meanwhile, Kouki was walking around the right side of the forest aimlessly, still seething about Jun's (false) victory.

"What does he mean, 'rock obviously beats paper'?" He muttered to himself. "That bastard! He could've let me go with Hikari!"

Suddenly, Kouki stopped as his ears detected something. "...Huh?" He murmured.

"Zzzz... zzz..." A light voice breathed quietly nearby him.

"Is anyone there?" Kouki called, moving towards the barely audible sound. He pushed aside a branch to see the girl from earlier, Kaida, sleeping comfortably at a tree. At closer inspection, Kouki realized she couldn't possibly be any older than ten years old after all. She had pale ivory skin that shone in the dark night, and her white hair stood out from the dark surroundings. It was in high contrast with her pitch black clothes, which consisted of a very long black dress with sleeves that far surpassed her hands and the hem of the outfit falling past her boots. The dress was complete with a large yellow _G_ sewn into the fabric. The girl slept soundly, her eyes (which Kouki had noticed earlier were red) not opening, her small chest moving slightly with every breath, and her white pigtails falling around her head like a halo.

Putting it simply, she was adorable.

Kouki gulped at the sudden revelation that had entered his head, but then shook it out, thinking to himself, _'Get a grip, Kouki! You can't be thinking things like this about a minor! Besides, you like Hikari, not some little girl who stole your Turtwig!'_

And with that he cleared his throat and yelled, "HEY! Wake up!"

"…Nnn…?" Kaida mumbled as she sat up blearily from her slumber. "Ten more minutes, Sister…"

"No. No more minutes." Kouki growled. "Where are our Pokémon?"

"Your Pokémon…?" Kaida murmured, staring at him. Then she blinked. "Oh, yeah, your Pokémon~. Sister has them."

Kouki stared incredulously at the girl's clear answer, but then began glaring again. "Sister… You mean that Kaiya girl?"

Kaida nodded. "Yeah. Sister~." She smiled. Kouki glowered more. "Take me to her!" He demanded.

"OK~."

"I said take me to—what?"

Kaida smiled more. "I said OK~." She said. "I'll help you find her and then you can talk."

"I… that's… g—good!" Kouki said shakily, surprised by the girl's immediate consent. Kaida looked around herself.

"Hm… Sister left me here to wait while she looked for a good place to camp out for the night… Oh, but I'm sure if we look hard enough we can find her~." She said. "So let's go."

Kaida tottered off aimlessly in a random direction and Kouki followed nervously.

After a few moments of silence, Kouki finally spoke again. "So, uh, why'd you take our Pokémon?"

"Saturn told us to." Kaida said simply.

Silence.

Then Kouki choked, "You stole our Pokémon because a _planet_ told you to?" Kaida looked at him weird.

"Saturn would be cross if he heard you say that." She murmured. "No, his _name_ is Saturn. Sister says he's our boss, but he's actually a lot like a big brother to me. Even though he's not my brother."

"But why are you taking Pokémon?" Kouki pressed.

Kaida looked at him as if her answer was obvious.

"To make the world a better place," She said. "Why else?"

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Hikari and Jun ran swiftly through the forest behind the Shinx with the scar over his left eye as he led them to who was supposedly one of the thieving sisters. Finally, they stopped as they heard a voice.

"…should be OK, don't you think so, Palette? Kaida should be fine sleeping in a place like this. Let's go get her." The voice said.

"Kec~leon!" A Pokémon's voice rang out.

"Get down," Jun muttered, pulling Hikari down behind a bush.

The two peeped up to see Kaiya inspecting a small cave where a bunch of forest underbrush and leaves had been gathered up to make a soft bedding. She was talking to her Kecleon, who was apparently named Palette.

"OK, let's go. I'm pretty sure we left her by the big pine tree on the other side of the woods," She said. "We made a pretty good haul today, didn't we? Saturn will be happy."

Kaiya then turned to leave, but it was at that moment Jun decided to spring up and yell, "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, THIEF!"

Kaiya jumped. "What the hell—?" She yelped, swiveling around to see the two. Hikari sighed.

Jun and Shinx growled simultaneously at Kaiya, who seemed to slowly recover from the surprise. She smirked. "Alright, you rookies want to battle? I'll battle. But I doubt you can beat me with only that crippled Shinx…"

A snarl ripped out of the scarred Shinx's throat, and Jun scowled more. "Gladly! Let's get it on!"

"Very well!" Kaiya said. "Let's—"

Suddenly, however, two familiar figures burst out of a nearby bush.

"Kouki?" Hikari screamed in surprise.

"Kaida?" Kaiya gasped in shock.

"Owie~… Ah, Sister! I found you!" Kaida smiled happily. "This nice boy wants to talk to you~."

"So you're Kaiya, huh?" Kouki started, but was cut off by Kaiya.

"I see," She grumbled. "So you kidnapped my little sister to trade her for your Pokémon back, huh?" 

"Eh? No, I…" Kouki started, but then caught himself and answered, "I mean, yes! That's exactly it! Now give us our Pokémon back!"

Kaiya scowled at him more, but then sighed. "…Fine. You win this time." She yelled, throwing all their Pokéballs at Hikari and Jun's feet. "But don't try any underhanded tricks like that again, you brats!"

Kouki held out Kaida to her, and Kaiya grabbed her younger sister back and glared at the girl. "Idiot!" She shouted. "I guess you were sleeping under a tree again or something, huh?"

"I wasn't sleeping," Kaida mumbled, "I was napping." Kaiya scowled more at the girl.

"Saturn's going to chew me out for this," She muttered. "Alright, Pastel! Color Change!"

Kecleon glowed, and the two disappeared into the night.

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A few minutes later, the three heroes were back in front of their campfire.

"Who _were_ those two, anyway?" Jun asked irritably, stroking Chimchar affectionately.

"I don't know, but they mentioned a Team Galactic or something…" Hikari mused as she held Piplup protectively.

Kouki didn't pay attention to the two as he thought back to what Kaida had said.

'_But why are you taking Pokémon?'_

'_To make the world a better place. Why else?'_

"What did she mean, 'make the world a better place?'" The boy muttered to himself. Hikari and Jun looked up at him.

"You say something?" Jun asked. Kouki sweatdropped and held his hands up.

"N—no, it's nothing!" He said hastily.

Jun stared, but then shrugged and let the matter go. "Anyways, I want to make Shinx my new Pokémon." He declared. "Whaddya say, buddy?"

Shinx, who had been curled up by the fire until now, growled at Jun briefly, but then bowed his head submissively. Jun grinned.

"Alright then!" He said, taking out a Pokéball. "Welcome to the family!"

He tapped Shinx on the head, and he transformed into red light before going in. After the ball clicked, signifying the capture, Jun let Shinx back out again.

"OK, next order of business!" He announced. "We all need to think of nicknames for our Pokémon!"

"Nicknames?" Hikari and Kouki inquired. Jun nodded.

"Yes, nicknames!" He said. "Chimchar here is going to be Blaze! Since that's just a plain and simple epic!"

"Chimchar!" Chimchar, now christened Blaze, cheered.

"Hmm… Alright then. I'm sure Piplup is a girl, but I'd like to go with a unisex name anyways. I'll call her Cobalt." Hikari said. Cobalt cried out in joy.

"Pip, piplup!" She said. Hikari smiled down at her partner, then said, "And I'd rather not send out Starly yet ("Because she'll peck you into hell," Jun snickered), but I'll name her Estelle. The Pokedex said she's a girl, too."

Kouki thought about it for a few moments, then said, "Alright then, I guess Turtwig can be Forestt." He murmured. Turtwig nodded quietly as he rested in Kouki's lap.

Jun looked down at his new Shinx. "And Shinx can be… Ooh, I've got it! From now on, you are Sparky!"

"SHIIIINX!" Shinx yelled, using Spark on Jun again. Jun lay swirly-eyed on the ground.

"OK. Apparently Sparky equals bad. Uhh…" Jun thought a little more. "Oh! I've got it! Fulgur!"

"Fulgur?" Hikari and Jun asked simultaneously. Jun nodded proudly.

"I read once that it was Latin for 'lightning'!" He said. "So whaddya say, Shinx? You like the name Fulgur?"

Shinx thought about it for a little, then nodded. "Shinx!" He cried.

Jun grinned as his new friend and Chimchar jumped onto his shoulders. "Awesome! Now I've got two epic Pokémon on my side!" He crowed. "Kouki, how much farther to Jubilife?"

Kouki checked the map. "Just through this trail, in and out of a cave and we'll be there." He confirmed.

Hikari nodded and smiled. "That's great! We should get there by tomorrow… Jun? What's wrong?"

Jun was staring at the two in disbelief.

"By… tomorrow?" He murmured in shock. Then he screamed to the sky, "TOO LONG! WE'RE NEVER GOING TO GET THERE FAST ENOUGH!"

Hikari sighed. "Nobody could go fast enough for you, Jun." She mumbled half to the others, and half to the bright moon above.

**.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.**

**Kin: *falls onto floor with swirly eyes* **_**Finally… done. So… much… typing…**_

**Jun: *pokes her* Is she alive?**

**Gin: Yeah… Uh, wait. *checks her pulse* Yeah, she's fine. Just exaggerating.**

**Please review!**


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